September 10 2014 morning was beautiful. I was looking
forward to the open space, fresh air, and the bamboos that have witnessed my
practice through 5 years of my stay at Kasturi Nagar, Bangalore. I will be
missing it. The relation between a practitioner and the space where one
practices is not tangible. The open space beside the defunct pool of Rakesh
Fantasy Garden witnessed the evolution of my Tai Chi forms execution. It had
made possible the refinement and clarification in understanding of Taiji, its
efficacy and how it might be explained to someone else. This was the lab, the
test site where ideas got perfected. While it remains without any desire or
interest in what I did in it I remain grateful.
This was to be a hectic day and the hour of tranquility I
would find here would fuel me for the rest of the day. This is the place where
I would prepare for the day to face it and prepare the body for the challenges.
I was delighted the earlier evening when Nanda called wanted to sync up. I had
wanted to meet him since the last time I was in Bangalore, before accepting a
position in Noida, he was out of station. He is a Tai Chi fanatic and had
wanted to learn since the very first time he saw a Chinese movie on it during
his child hood. It was during a promotion drive for Tai Chi in Juniper Networks
with Shankar that I had met him briefly. But it stuck and he had resolved to
learn and joined the classes at Indira Nagar. Despite the interest his early
movement was ponderous unsure and admittedly had to sugar coat my adverse
comments to encourage and egg him on. Now it is so very heartening to see his
progress, his passion has found expression and now for him there is no down, only
the way up. I chanced upon his offer and asked him to join me in my
last practice.
Nanda, me and Vetri
I asked him to call Vetri to join as well. Vetri is a silent
guy with a lot of warmth and depth. In my view for him Tai Chi is a perfect fit.
His attitude and approach very much suits the philosophy that Tai Chi promotes-
Yielding rather than controlling, feeling rather than reacting. Despite this he
takes his time to take in the form and it’s a good thing- taking time with the
form creates the capacity to understand it further permitting more depth in expression.
Nanda is a close friend of his through the shared interest of the art and like.
With them joining in it was all the more delight when looking forward to the last
Tai Chi morning in Bangalore.
28 Forms
Sword
Saber
In the end looking back it was a terrific experience practicing
forms and sharing training tips and form understanding that I had collected in
my solitude at Noida. I felt energized as now I was empty right then the duo
presented with a hard disk worth of Tai Chi materials to decipher and deal with,
a delightful price to pay for this discerning audience. Next time I meet them
in person it will be a task cut out and have to prepare myself for they will be
more skilled, sharp and yet more soft. I bid the space, the duo, and the environs good
bye and right then I finally understood what the Bamboos were trying to teach me.
